QJD design studio has had the immense privilege of proposing 2 very different lodge design proposals in the Namibian desert -keying into the ever evolving wildetecture design ideas.
1) the Moroccan inspired wildetect concept
2) the erxell concept - earth branding concept - my idea was to create an image from the architecture outlined in the desert. to be viewed from above as per the Nazca Indian impressions in the Peruvian desert or crop circles in the English countryside. QJD keyed the nanibian lodge structure into a stylized bunch of grapes from the air (the structures proposed position is the biggest grape farm in the southern hemisphere.) the structure from the ground elevation would resemble a hill. limiting the amount of straight man made lines. the pergolas and edges of the structure created the curves and would give the overall structure less of a man made look and be more an organic composition.
one must always keep in mind the wise words of Raymond loewy when proposing any new concept - MAYA - most advanced yet acceptable.
the desert is always an incredible place to create absolute drama - i will be designing my eventual creative space deep in the Karoo, namib or kalahari deserts. taking care to keep to the principles of earth branded architecture, perceived kinetic architecture, architectural shadow projection, disintegration of perspective, human driven architectural mechanisms and all the other wildetecture architectural concepts that fascinate me and continue to inspire.
a complete obsession of mine is to create a wildetect inspired structure very deep in one of the african deserts - away from the red tape machine, away from the maddening crowd stifling creative thought. i am slowly identifying with the brave folk of yesteryear who pioneered the unknown spaces by moving west or trekking north or sailing to the unknown horizon. to get away from the accountant like over regulated towns and cities of europe. unfortunately a new frontier sailing trip with ox wagon and tools is not provided for the pioneering spirit anymore. however dreams and visions are the sancitity of the sane. its the insane who feel normalised by the sounds of a neighbor's toilet flushing , instead of the wild sound of a real lions african freedom roar.
imagine looking up and seeing nothing but stars and knowing your nearest neighbor does not stand on 2 legs. and if he does hes very hairy - no i dont mean the hairy dude with the gold chain necklace - i mean an african free monkey - what an absolute pleasure.
